Greece is among a group of European countries considering sending rejected asylum seekers to Rwanda and Uzbekistan, as the European Union moves towards shifting part of its migrant returns system outside its own borders, according to Politico news outlet.

The plans follow the approval of new EU rules allowing member states to establish so-called “return hubs” in non-EU countries for people who have been denied the right to remain in Europe. Any such agreements would have to meet human-rights and international-law requirements.

More than half of the EU’s 27 member states reportedly sent a letter this month calling for the rapid implementation of the centres. Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands are described as the countries leading the push to transfer the management of rejected asylum seekers outside European territory.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said the aim is to finalise the first agreements for the facilities by 2026, so that they can become operational by 2027.

The countries that would host the centres have not yet been selected, and the political and diplomatic process remains under way, according to European diplomats cited by Politico. Rwanda and Uzbekistan are under discussion, a fact reportedly confirmed at EU level, although each member state would have to conclude its own agreement.

The European Commission, which was not involved in talks on the selection of possible host countries, as well as other EU member states, would have to be informed before any centres begin operating.

Politico notes that the EU has already channelled significant funding to Rwanda through the Global Gateway programme, announcing investments worth €900 million in 2023. Uzbekistan has also received EU grants totalling €119 million.

Uganda is another country being discussed behind the scenes, according to a senior European official from one of the states supporting the initiative. Countries closer to the EU, including Egypt and Libya, are said to have been ruled out amid concerns that such arrangements could strengthen migrant-smuggling networks.

Before the legislation was approved, Cyprus’s Migration Minister Nikolas Ioannidis said the “general idea” was to establish the centres “perhaps in Africa or Asia”, but “not near European borders”. He said respect for human rights would be a central criterion in any agreements, adding that the EU wants international organisations such as the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, to be involved in ensuring compliance with the rules.

The plan has drawn strong criticism from human-rights organisations and several European governments. A UNHCR spokesperson in Brussels accused the EU of giving in to “populist rhetoric”, warning Politico that refugees could be sent to countries where they may suffer “irreparable harm”.

France and Spain are among the countries that have raised objections. French President Emmanuel Macron said in Brussels last week that he had “never seen a third-country return centre that actually works”, adding that he was not sure the model represented “the Europe we want”.

Green MEP Melissa Kamara, who leads her group’s work on the new EU migration rules, told Politico that creating return centres outside the bloc “violates the fundamental European values of dignity and respect for fundamental rights”. She added that centres in Uzbekistan or Rwanda would offer no guarantee that human rights would be respected.